The following essay by David Gordon Green on Todd Rohal’s The Guatemalan Handshake accompanies the film’s DVD release from Benten Films out today. I am plagued by two mothers of frustration: 1. POWER PROBLEMS: Who controls the switches? Who pushes the buttons? How do I get to be large and in charge like Arsenio Hall’s portly alter ego Chunky A? 2. LOST AND FOUND: Why did you leave? Where did you go? Or have I just forgotten where I put you? Todd Rohal’s first feature length movie The Guatemalan Handshake revolves around these issues through a series of characters and […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Apr 29, 2008WILL OLDHAM IN TODD ROHAL’S THE GUATEMALAN HANDSHAKE. COURTESY AMALGAMATED FILMWORKS. Todd Rohal is possibly the Mumblecore director you’ve heard least about, maybe because his films don’t fit with the movement’s improvisational, talky style or focus on twentysomething relationships. A native of Columbus, Ohio, he studied film at Ohio University, where his first short film, Single Spaced (1997), was nominated for a Student Academy Award. He made two subsequent shorts in college, Slug 660 (1998) and Knuckleface Jones (1999), and resisted the lure of Hollywood after graduating, instead choosing to take a more unconventional road. He made his fourth short, […]
by Nick Dawson on Jun 8, 2007Over at Green Cine Jonathan Marlow posts a long interview with Todd Rohal, director of The Guatemalan Handshake. The film is one of my favorite indies so far this year. (I’ve actually been following the film for a while as I selected it to be part of the IFP’s Rough Cut program last year.) The film opens this week at the Independent Film Festival of Boston, and for more on the film, go to its website and, while you’re there, click on the iTunes link and subscribe to its podcasts. In the interview, Marlow asks Rohal about casting two musicians […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 19, 2006Here’s a novel promotional e-mail we received today from Todd Rohal, director and sound engineer of The Guatemalan Handshake. We can’t vouch for the accuracy of the story, but we thought you might find it of interest: “As the news of Tom DeLay’s misuse of funds is talked about daily here in the nation’s Capital, we at The Guatemalan Handshake would like to clear the air about our involvement… “Early on in our search for funding we were set up to meet with a high-profile Washington lobbyist. I bought a brand new pair of pants for the occasion. This lobbyist […]
by Jason Guerrasio on May 5, 2005The last time I linked to the Cyan Pictures Web site it was to make fun of founder Josh Newman’s constant posting of new film sales and starts that never seem to quite happen. So it’s only fair that I eat some crow and link to the site again now that a new film, a doc called More than a Game has gone into production. From the site: “Late this may, B’nei Sakhnin became the first Arab-led soccer team to win the Israeli national cup. Now the team heads off to Europe to represent Israel on the world stage of […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 22, 2004Via Pitchfork Media comes this news blurb about The Guatemalan Handshake, an indie film currently shooting in Eastern Pennsylvania starring musician Will Oldham (Palace, Bonnie “Prince” Billy) and directed by Todd Rohal. Previously, Rohal designed the DVD packaging for Dianne Bellino’s short Slitch and, in the process, met Oldham, who starred in that film as well. Writes Pitchfork: “The Guatemalan Handshake — which bears no apparent relation to The Dirty Sanchez, as far as our sources can tell– is presently in production, and follows a 10 year-old boy named Turkeylegs as he searches for his friend Donald (played by Oldham), […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 1, 2004